God has called us to increase our faith. We must declare this year’s theme and watch it come to pass. The downpour is going to fall and it is not going to stop. We have to do something about what God is doing: pray, press in, believe and activate this thing more. Thus, God’s move will not be over in a short time. For many people, God’s move took place for only a month or two because they did not press in for more.
God’s manifest presence does the following:
1) It changes our motives, behavior and attitudes.
2) It gives us a desire for more of Him
3) It gives us the ability to change the circumstances around us.
When God shows up in a way that leaves an impact on our lives, healing and an infilling with His spirit occur. Experiencing His manifest presence will also produce the fear of God in our lives. It seems as though this fear is gone from the Church in our time. We must not become settled when the glory is not present. God’s glory is here and it is here for us to have a fear of God i.e. to live and move in His Spirit. Without it, Christianity becomes a dead and lost religion. The fear of the Lord involves having a deep reverence for Him and having a great desire not to displease Him. Jesus cautioned us not to fear Man who could destroy the body, but admonished us instead to fear the One who could destroy both the body and the soul (Matthew 10:28). God is so awesome that anyone who sees Him should be awestruck. He is mighty, powerful and absolutely holy. We need to come to Him in reverence as He is an all consuming fire. We must deeply respect His presence.
When a revival occurs, it is to bring the Church into its former glory as God moves to restore His holiness. Consequently, a reverence of His presence occurs. Those who fear God, hate evil (Proverbs 8:13). When Israel saw God, he thought that he was going to die and Daniel turned pale when he saw Him in a vision. We sin because we have lost the glory, but the glory is coming back. When God came to the people of Israel, they were afraid (Exodus 20:18). The fear of the Lord keeps the Church from sinning.
Acts 5:1-5 declares that God’s spirit was moving and great things happened: people sold their properties to follow Christ, as following Christ was the ultimate sacrifice in those days. Indeed, one was cut off from one’s family for accepting Christ. Husbands even threw out their wives and people who sold their properties gave the money to the disciples to take care of the Church. Ananias and Sapphira were destroyed at this time for lying to the Holy Spirit.
The fire of God judges just at it brings joy. As a result, we have to be careful in this new season so that we do not fall prey to the enemy. Because of what happened with Ananias and Sapphira, people did not dare to take the Church lightly. This is seen in Acts 5: 13. Church is not a social club. God’s Spirit comes to straighten up the Church so that we do not act outside of His will. When the glory comes, it is all God and very little of man. The glory of God moves beyond the anointing. We press in for more of God so that the glory flows and the work becomes easier. When we experience God’s manifest presence, the fear of Him increases, miracles increase and the Church functions as one unit. The unsaved are also drawn to Him.
Experiencing God’s manifest presence changes our perspective of Him. One encounter with Him can change the way that we live. We begin to view things the way He does. Psalm 103:7 states that He made known His ways to Moses and His acts to the children of Israel. The children of Israel saw what God did. However, Moses saw what He did and understood why He acted and spoke as He did. God wants to change our perspective. Many understand God according to how we were brought up and how we were taught. Unfortunately, many of the people who taught us did not have a true encounter with God.
In Judges 6:11, we see Gideon threshing wheat in the hole that was reserved for wine pressing when God appeared to Him. Gideon was hiding from His enemies (the Midianites) at that time because he was afraid of them. However, we need to note God’s perspective of him. He told Gideon that he would smite the Midianites as just one man, in spite of his fear and insecurities. Gideon was so doubtful that it was God speaking to him that he asked for a sign. We too, need a move of God for us to see that He is who we think He is. God is calling us to enlarge our perspective of His presence and power. He wants us to see what He says about us rather than what others say. He wants us to understand who He is and how He moves.
When we experience the manifest presence of God, it will increase our faith in Him. God will increase His power in us so that we can operate in a higher level of faith and realise that nothing is too difficult for Him. He wants our faith level to deepen and for us to go higher. The disciples in the boat during the storm called on Jesus and this showed their faith level. God wants us to move beyond calling on Him as the disciples did. Instead, He wants us to speak to the situation ourselves. We tend to want God to move on our behalf, but He wants us to walk in authority, understanding that we can step out and exercise that authority. This is another level of faith. He does not want is to be simply excited about His power, but to move in it and to exercise it.
